Advice and Tools Features

Demystifying fund management - how those clever men and women make money

Many books have been written on the techniques fund managers use but you don't necessarily require a maths degree to understand their basic strategies. Above and beyond the number-crunching there are several approaches most managers favour depending on the type and objective of their funds.

Home mover in a hurry? Here's how to sell and buy at the right prices

If you have to move home, now isn't exactly the best time but, unfortunately, some of us have no choice in the matter because of our job, change in marital status or to be near a child's new school. Despite the difficult environment, having a carefully planned strategy for moving will go a long way and help you get the best price for your existing home. You'll also need to work out a budget for the cost of moving and apply for a new mortgage if you need to borrow more.

Investment Commentary: Sell in May and go away? No!

The $64,000 question is whether we should treat this as a suckers' rally and take advantage of it to bale out. At least one experienced fund manager of my acquaintance believes this to be the case. He has been investigating taking out an out-of-the-money put option on the Footsie. Will I be joining him? Despite my concern that the credit crunch still has some unpleasant tales to tell, my answer must be - not on this occasion.

The Party Season is upon us - but are you covered?

Sarah Ruscoe hit the headlines earlier this year when 2000 partygoers trashed her parent's £3m home while they were on holiday.

Will the base interest rate cut mean cheap mortgages?

Will you see any benefit from the lower base rate in your monthly mortgage bill? There's a strong chance you won't. There are some 11.8 million mortgages outstanding, worth a collective £2.5 trillion. But it's been estimated that upwards of half of all these mortgages are fixed rate deals of varying durations.